Original photographs are hand made. We will contact you within two business days with an estimated delivery date.

Prices subject to change as print edition increases

These
prints are hand-made by the artist on the highest quality paper
which is hand-coated with the platinum/palladium. They are offered in limited editions of 10 prints of
each image. Pricing is based on
image size and place in the edition.

The
platinum/palladium printing process has been in
existence nearly as long as photography itself. Commercially produced
platinum printing papers first became available in the 1880's and by
the turn of the century platinum prints were very popular, valued
for their beauty and their intrinsic permanence.

Platinum
and palladium are two of the most inert elements in existence which
contributes greatly to the extreme archival stability of platinum
prints. There is a documented case where platinum prints aboard a
sunken ship were brought to the surface 20 years later in excellent
condition.

With
the onset of World War I, platinum
family metals were hard to come by in the US and platinum papers had
to be imported from Europe. By 1941, commercially produced platinum
papers were no longer available. Print makers who desire the unique and
beautiful qualities of platinum create their own printing paper by
mixing the light-sensitive chemicals and coating paper by hand. Many
print makers thrive by working this way, gaining both technical
control and personal satisfaction from this hand-made approach to
photographic print making.

The
process involves mixing very small quantities of a sensitizer
solution (ferric oxalate) with solutions containing the platinum
and/or palladium metals. This mixture is then applied to fine rag
paper or other media, using either a brush or a glass rod which
evenly spreads the solution across the paper. The platinum mixture is
only sensitive to ultraviolet light and is therefore a contact printing
process (the negative must be the same size as the desired print).
The ferric oxalate in the solution reacts with UV light to reduce the
platinum metal out of the solution, thus making the image on the
paper. The platinum particles are embedded within the fibers of the
paper which results in an image that is as permanent as the paper
itself. This venerable process has become more and more popular in
recent years. Platinum prints are valued by galleries, museums and art
collectors for their archival stability as well as their unmatched
beauty.